The field of this invention relates generally to devices used by people for removing particles of food and the like from between their teeth through the use of a string which is drawn between a pair of directly adjacent teeth and moved in a reciprocal motion to effect cleaning of the area between the teeth.
Dental hygiene is of similar importance in peridontal disease. Dental flossing is an important ally of the toothbrush, since it may be passed through two adjoining teeth to remove hidden debris, particularly food particles which have been wedged between the teeth. Dental flossing is also helpful when cleaning the edges of the gums between the teeth and in preventing and removal of plaque which forms around the base of the teeth and causes serious gum disorders.
The most common way of dental flossing is for the individual to cut off a length of floss from a dispenser and introduce the length of floss into the mouth with the individual holding the strand of floss taut. However, flossing in this manner requires considerable coordination and perseverance. This procedure is not only time consuming, since a complete set of teeth has twenty eight areas between teeth, also putting of one's fingers in one's mouth is not the most desirable of experiences. Not only is it normally inherently distasteful to locate one's fingers in one's mouth, some people are employed in jobs which cause their hands to become deeply stained with contaminants or odorants which makes it physically distasteful for them to place their fingers into their mouths. For example, the hands of an automobile service station worker may become deeply grimed with carbon and the strong odor of gasoline.
Still further, the physical working area within one's mouth is confined. The physical size of one's fingers are normally too large to facilitate usage of dental floss within one's mouth.
Previously, there have been attempts to design a tool to achieve the purpose of dental flossing. The most common type of tool comprises a pair of protruding prongs which extend from a handle section. An individual is to remove a section of floss from a separate dispenser and attach the removed section of floss to the tool. Frequently, a single strand of dental floss will only work between a single pair of teeth. This means that during one complete usage, an individual with a full set of teeth, will be required to load and unload this dispenser twenty eight different times. As a result, although the tool itself will eliminate the inserting of one's fingers into one's mouth, it definitely does not facilitate the task of flossing, but actually complicates it and makes the flossing time greater.
At the present time, most dental floss is sold in some form of a container. Prior to the present invention, there has not been known any dental flossing tool which has been designed to be utilized in conjunction with a conventionally available dental flossing container.